If you've been swimming for a while you've probably hit a plateau in your swimming performances at some point in time, in fact it's quite likely you're on one right now. You might have been swimming for weeks, months or even years without seeing any improvements in your swimming ability, which is a very frustrating place to be.

There's a common school of thought out there that says in this situation you should 'embrace the plateau' and enjoy it for what it is - as if doing so is in some way virtuous.

At Swim Smooth we fundamentally disagree with embracing plateaus because to do that you're believing either:

- You are already as good as swimmer as you can be (vanishingly unlikely).
or:- By repeating the same things for months on end, without improvement, that one day you're going to wake up and suddenly be a much better swimmer*.

- Do you practise your open water skills regularly? Your ability to swim straight, draft and punch effectively through disturbed water can all be practised in the pool during the winter and are arguably worth as much time saving as conventional technique work.

Practising open water skills in the pool is essential
to reach your potential as an open water swimmer or triathlete.

- What are your pacing skills like? Go off too fast every time you start a set (or start a swim within a set) and the quality of your training will be reduced. See here.

What Is Holding You Back?

As humans we get tied to our beliefs and habits but more often than not they are what ends up holding us back. Try making a few changes and introducing some fresh ideas to your swimming - you will be surprised at the results!

Swim Smooth!

* The definition of insanity? Keep doing what you've always done and expecting a different outcome.

now I've got a special question: I like the little video in the middle of the post. I was wondering where I could find similar swim videos that could be used for "visualization".often coverage from races doesn't work that well because the perspective switches all the time.

just re-read your post about (2 beat) kick and kick timing...my natural timing is totally screwed up: kicking left when pulling left!! so I tried to find videos with 2 beat kicks to help me get my timing straight

You may not be aware but we now have a modernised version of Mr Smooth including Miss Swinger app available for iPads and iPhones here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/mr-smooth/id824204887?mt=8 or for Android devices here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.swimsmooth.perfectcouple&hl=en

Miss Swinger is available in our new version for IOS/Apple and Android devices, since the console pre-dates her! She's definitely worth checking out in future! Some clips of Smooths and Swingers in here for you to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q3Tsp_u02c